We're a non-profit community newsroom serving the heart of Kensington in North Philadelphia. Our goal is to provide a platform where residents can reclaim their neighborhood’s narratives, voice their concerns, and build community power.
Our mission is to serve the Kensington area with empathy and thoughtfulness while also creating journalism that is for the community, not just about the community. We generally cover stories from Cecil B. Moore Avenue to Tioga Street and from 6th Street to Aramingo Avenue. This includes parts of Norris Square, Fairhill, Harrowgate, and Port Richmond. Our bilingual content, written in both English
Our mission is to serve the Kensington area with empathy and thoughtfulness while also creating journalism that is for the community, not just about the community. We generally cover stories from Cecil B. Moore Avenue to Tioga Street and from 6th Street to Aramingo Avenue. This includes parts of Norris Square, Fairhill, Harrowgate, and Port Richmond. Our bilingual content, written in both English
The exhibition celebrated the expansion of the Kensington Storefront's mission, as well as community-led programming in the neighborhood.
“Here’s a moment to show off the bright shine, the amazing resilience, the amazing healing, all in one space,” said Pamela Draper, program manager at the Kensington Storefront.
Mural Arts hosted an art exhibition at the Community Center of Visitation reflecting on neighborhood programming from the past year.
03/23/2022
Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez's office will be hosting a LIHEAP and Utility drive, offering residents assistance in filling out forms. The first session will be at the Harrowgate PAL Center on March 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
El 20 de marzo marcó el primer día de la primavera y el cambio de las estaciones se consideran un buen momento para comprobar sus alarmas de humo. Aquí está cómo conseguir una instalación gratuita de detectores de humo y cómo mantenerlos.
Además cómo darles mantenimiento a sus detectores de humo para mantener seguros a su familia, compañeros de casa y vecinos.
March 20 marked the first day of spring and the changing of the seasons are considered a good time to check your smoke alarms. Here's how to get a free installation of smoke detectors and how to maintain them.
Plus how to maintain your smoke alarms to keep your family, housemates, and neighbors safe.
Class will begin for high schoolers at 9 a.m, but so far elementary schools between Pre-K and eighth grade will keep their current schedules.
One of the reasons why the school district decided on a bell change is for students to spend less time on school buses.
03/19/2022
To celebrate the Coral Street Fridge’s first birthday, free bagged groceries and hot meals are being given away until 3:30 p.m. between Braddock and Coral streets on Lehigh Ave. Residents can pull over in their cars in the reserved spot and be handed groceries.
After months after easing into the ban, a full plastic bag ban (with few exceptions) in Philly will be effective on April 1.
After months of warning periods for buisnsesses, the city will start issueing violations with penalties of $150. After a few introductory periods, Philadelphia’s plastic bag ban will be final…
Déjà Vu Barbershop owner Danny Ruiz on being a listening ear and offering encouragement to clients: "You might give that person hope when he’s looking in the mirror feeling good and, believe me, it makes a difference.”
Danny Ruiz, owner of Déjà Vu, discusses his career journey and how he fosters inclusivity and community support at the shop.
The joy in Kensington is real and palpable, but should be felt by all residents. Naomi Wildflower wrote on her experience living in Kensington, her fondness for the community, and the amount of unpaid labor residents spend doing the work of the City to keep the neighborhood functioning.
Residents of Kensington regularly go beyond expectations to keep one another safe and the neighborhood clean.
Philadelphia’s Board of Education announced the three finalists to replace Superintendent William Hite – all men, all experienced educators, and none with ties to Philadelphia. The board hopes to make a decision by March 21.
Philadelphia unveils three finalists to replace William Hite as next superintendent
To help fuel ridership, SEPTA is offering 25% off weekly passes, one free transfer between bus, trolley, and subway, and new three-day passes for people with hybrid schedules.
With gas prices wreaking havoc on wallets across the country, Philadelphians are looking at other ways to get from point A to B.
The Streets Department announced 6 virtual meetings where residents and stakeholders can learn more about the Mechanical Cleaning Pilot Program. The meetings begin tomorrow, March 15. Sweeping boundaries in the neighborhood are from 2nd St. to Kensington Ave. from Tioga St. to Lehigh Ave.
Residential mechanical street cleaning returns April 4. Virtual community meetings scheduled to provide additional information.
03/13/2022
Today’s art exhibition is in full swing at the Community Center at Visitation! Enjoy free art, activities, and food while celebrating the creativity and resilience of the community.
Today, March 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., join the Kensington Storefront for Expanding Our Roots. This free exhibit features art, stories, and interactive displays highlighting public art and community programming.
Join us for a spirited, interactive exhibition of the incredible collaboration, artwork, poetry and service of Kensington community members.
As of March 9, 2022, 76.4% of Philadelphians ages 18 and up have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 94.4% have received at least one dose. Philadelphians who now receive a vaccine at participating Philadelphia Health Department clinics before March 31 can receive a $100 incentive.
Here is a list of places where you can receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Kensington and answers to common questions about receiving the vaccine.
NKCDC was awarded $400,000 from Rite Aid Healthy Futures to support its Public Green Space Initiative designed to support sustainable land sovereignty and food production in the area.
The Public Green Space Initiative will build, maintain, and program new green space designed to improve health and increase food production.
City Council passed a bill that will guarantee up to 40 hours of paid sick leave for Philadelphia workers to recover from COVID-19, care for a sick family member or a child whose school was closed or take time off to get a COVID vaccine or booster shot.
The Philly Spring Cleanup is taking place this year on April 2. Submit your project by March 18 and register to volunteer! Several neighborhood organizations, including Somerset Neighbors for Better Living and Friends of Norris Square Park, will host events.
Submit your #PhillySpringCleanup project/register to volunteer at phillyspringcleanup.com. Register up to March 18th. See you April 2nd!
Kensington Voice is grateful and honored to be a Kensington Community Resilience Fund recipient. We will use this funding to continue platforming and uplifting community voices. Thank you for selecting us and congratulations to the other recipients! Check out the other neighborhood organizations that were selected below.
Second Round of the Kensington Community Resilience Fund
03/08/2022
NKCDC is searching for members to join a neighborhood advisory subcommittee to discuss community needs and solutions. If interested, contact Darnell Morris at 215-427-0350 x118 or [email protected].
Fab Youth Philly is hiring for multiple open positions and will be hosting job fairs so you can learn more about them! Sessions in Kensington will take place today, March 7, and on March 21, 25, and 30. https://www.fabyouthphilly.com/job-openings
¿Necesita ayuda para declarar su impuestos? Como parte de la red de Asistencia Voluntaria para los Impuestos del IRS, Ceiba está ayudando a los miembros de la comunidad a hacer que la temporada de impuestos sea lo más fluida posible.
La organización basada en Norris Square, Ceiba, proporciona servicios gratuitos de preparación de impuestos federales y estatales a contribuyentes de bajos ingresos.
Need help filing your taxes? As part of the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance network, Norris Square-based organization Ceiba is helping community members make tax season go as smoothly as possible.
Norris Square-based organization, Ceiba, is providing free federal and state tax preparation services to low-income filers.
The Kensington Storefront will host a public exhibit at the Community Center at Visitation on March 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Register here:
Join us for a spirited, interactive exhibition of the incredible collaboration, artwork, poetry and service of Kensington community members.
03/02/2022
Up the Block (uptheblock.org), a project linking Philadelphians to gun violence resources, wants to know how you're utilizing them. Fill out this survey by March 7 and enter for the chance to win a $20 Grubhub giftcard. https://publicinput.com/O5215
Philly's dropping the indoor mask mandate but masks will still be required in health-care settings and on public transit. Businesses can still set their own COVID-19 policies.
“The metrics that we’re following have reached the level where the Health Department feels it is safe to stop enforcing the indoor mask mandate,” a health department spokesperson said.
In a mobile unit converted from an old Free Library bookmobile, AR-2 roams Kensington and offers the opportunity to go right to treatment, health screening, housing services, and more.
The Philadelphia Fire Department has teamed up with city public health agencies to provide a forward-thinking and unique model of care for opioid-addicted residents. Now, a sizable grant will make it possible to fully staff their efforts.
Three private companies will provide up to 88 guides, who will be split evenly between the morning and evening shifts. The guides will serve as ambassadors, working at stations along the Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines as well as on SEPTA vehicles.
The guides will use a less confrontational method to remind riders about SEPTA rules including fare evasion and smoking policies.
Scanlon Recreation Center will be transformed, with the donation supporting construction of an outdoor street hockey rink and outdoor sports wall, and refurbishing the playground. The project is estimated to be completed in November.
In addition to building an outdoor street rink, the current playground will be refurbished and an all-purpose sports wall will be constructed.
In the first installment of our Small Business Spotlight in partnership with NKCDC, learn about the origins of Déjà Vu Barbershop, how the owner is investing in their barbers and their community, and what's in store for the future.
Danny Ruiz, owner of Déjà Vu, discusses his career journey and how he fosters inclusivity and community support at the shop.
Norris Square resident Darryl Thomas shares his experiences as a disabled person and urges readers to be informed on different disabilities and how to make spaces more accessible.
Norris Square resident shares his experience living with a disability and advocates for disability awareness.
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Videos
Community members march along Kensington Ave
NKCDC director Bill McKinney speaks at march
March for Safety and Solutions at Somerset Station
Latinos a Votar
Drummers perform at Kensington protest
Protesters chant in the streets
Community member speaks at protest
Protesters chant at Kensington and Allegheny
Kensington & Allegheny
National Guard in Kensington
Clean-Up near Kensington & Clearfield
Step Up to the Plate
Talleres de Cuéntame en la biblioteca de Lillian Marrero
Kensington Voice is a community-driven news project that began in August 2018 as a journalism class at Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University. The class was created on a hunch that in a neighborhood often at the center of stigmatizing news coverage, journalists weren’t always meeting the community’s needs.
For several months, student journalists and organizers hit the streets and worked alongside community organizations and residents to form a prototype of what the neighborhood would want from a neighborhood newsroom. We most often heard that “Kensington needs a voice,” and Kensington Voice was born.
We’ve operated as a pop-up newsroom, available to the public in various locations such as libraries, subway and bus stations, parks, street corners, art-making spaces, and more. In January 2019, we launched a digital publication, which so far has included first-person narratives, news features, and solutions-focused stories. Since that time, we’ve also hosted various community storytelling workshops across the neighborhood at Free Library branches and neighborhood nonprofit spaces like The Lighthouse and The Kensington Storefront.
Last summer, we received funding from the Independence Media Foundation to expand our efforts. With that support, we were able to hire three recent Temple graduates to work as journalists, and several student journalists, too. On March 17, we signed a lease for a public newsroom space on Lehigh Avenue, just as COVID-19 began to spread in Philadelphia. While we wait for this crisis to resolve, we are working remotely to serve the neighborhood as best as we can.
Read more about who we are and what we do at Kensington Voice.
The exhibition celebrated the expansion of the Kensington Storefront's mission, as well as community-led programming in the neighborhood.
“Here’s a moment to show off the bright shine, the amazing resilience, the amazing healing, all in one space,” said Pamela Draper, program manager at the Kensington Storefront.
Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez's office will be hosting a LIHEAP and Utility drive, offering residents assistance in filling out forms. The first session will be at the Harrowgate PAL Center on March 26 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Visitation B.V.M. has a couple of thousand dollars remaining to help residents impacted by COVID-19 cover rent and living expenses.
El 20 de marzo marcó el primer día de la primavera y el cambio de las estaciones se consideran un buen momento para comprobar sus alarmas de humo. Aquí está cómo conseguir una instalación gratuita de detectores de humo y cómo mantenerlos.
March 20 marked the first day of spring and the changing of the seasons are considered a good time to check your smoke alarms. Here's how to get a free installation of smoke detectors and how to maintain them.
The March issue of Kensington Voice is now available! Stop by one of our partnered locations to pick up a free copy of our newspaper.
Class will begin for high schoolers at 9 a.m, but so far elementary schools between Pre-K and eighth grade will keep their current schedules.
To celebrate the Coral Street Fridge’s first birthday, free bagged groceries and hot meals are being given away until 3:30 p.m. between Braddock and Coral streets on Lehigh Ave. Residents can pull over in their cars in the reserved spot and be handed groceries.
After months after easing into the ban, a full plastic bag ban (with few exceptions) in Philly will be effective on April 1.
Déjà Vu Barbershop owner Danny Ruiz on being a listening ear and offering encouragement to clients: "You might give that person hope when he’s looking in the mirror feeling good and, believe me, it makes a difference.”
The joy in Kensington is real and palpable, but should be felt by all residents. Naomi Wildflower wrote on her experience living in Kensington, her fondness for the community, and the amount of unpaid labor residents spend doing the work of the City to keep the neighborhood functioning.
Philadelphia’s Board of Education announced the three finalists to replace Superintendent William Hite – all men, all experienced educators, and none with ties to Philadelphia. The board hopes to make a decision by March 21.
